A Revelation in a Lesson
by Perfume
Summary: Lessons, revelations, and a word from a friend may doom the young Crown Prince in the future.


**Author's Note: **Hello! I have returned with another story. Some of you who have replied to my other one-shots were told that I was writing at least one other Elisabeth piece. Only, it wasn't about Elisabeth. (Shocking, no?) It was about her son, Rudolf. You see, another thing I like to explore is the friendship that Rudolf had with Der Tod. He [Der Tod] mentions that he was always nearby, and that he [Rudolf] spoke to Der Tod often as a child. Until when? I decided to play around with an idea, and then personal life pushed the idea off to the side. I completed half of it, and it remained in my computer files, forgotten. UNTIL NOW.

So, for my fans of my other one shots (the one's who so kindly wrote back to me), this is for you. Thank you for all your kind words!

(Like always, Der Tod is Uwe Kroeger!)

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**Title:** A Revelation in a Lesson  
Summary: Lessons, revelations, and a word from a friend may doom the young Crown Prince in the future.  
Characters: Der Tod / Rudolf

* * *

The young crown prince rested his head on his hand, absently doodling on a sheet of parchment. He was supposed to be practicing his studies. But his countless thoughts kept him from completing the task.

"Your Highness," a cold voice said, causing him to sit up. His tutor, Leonard, poised with a book in his hand, his eyes looking down upon the doodle that had resulted in his laziness. Rudolf shuffled the paper beneath some notes and tried to hide it with a sheepish smile.

"Your father and mother expect so much of you. I would hate to inform them that you're – once again – distracted by your fantasies." The tutor snapped the book shut within his hand.

Rudolf frowned, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. At the age of 14, Rudolf had not only gained intelligence, but dissatisfaction over those bossing him around. Especially his tutor that is grandma had assigned him.

"There is a Chinese proverb that says_: Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare._ So, technically the use of me daydreaming is beneficial to the mind. Do you not agree?" Rudolf asked, raising an eyebrow in return.

His tutor said nothing but stood and placed the book on the table. "Young Highness, all can daydream. It is a given. But **not** while doing your lessons. For it is the lessons taught that aid to the choices later on. And that includes daydreams."

Rudolf watched his tutor exit the room, his boots clicking against the floor. When he was sure he was alone in the room, Rudolf stood. He looked down at his studies, quite angry at his incompetence and his nonchalant care to what was going on in the world – past or current.

"Slacking off in your studies, my friend?"

The voice was low, but friendly. Rudolf, turning in shock, smiled at the sight of his friend. His long coat of dark blue, and his blonde hair swept back from his face. His friend, who revealed his name as Samuel, came closer to the desk. He reached out a hand, flipping open one of Rudolf's books.

As a child, he had grown used to him. He used to think he was a figment of his imagination, but as he grew older, he started to take notice that he was not the only one who knew of his existence. He believed his mother knew of him as well, Samuel had mentioned her in some of their talks.

"Yes," Rudolf said, shaking his head. "My mother expects me to know everything, so does my father. I don't want to disappoint them. But my tutors are always boring."

Samuel smiled, picking up a book. "You are right, they can be boring. You don't have the proper teacher. Come," he said, beckoning Rudolf to take a seat once more, "let me have a try at teaching you."

"Very well," Rudolf said, "I don't know how you'll be an improvement. Do you know much about World History?"

Samuel chuckled. "I know quite a lot, Rudolf. History and I go hand in hand with one another."

"Really?" Rudolf was intrigued. Samuel did not talk a lot about himself, but Rudolf was sure he knew that he spent their time together trying to guess who he was.

"Oh yes," Samuel said, taking a seat lazily. One hand wrapped around the frame of the chair with the other balancing the book open. "Ah, I see you were learning about. France. Such an interesting country, don't you think? My sister is currently in France."

"You have a sister?" This was the first time Rudolf heard Samuel mention someone besides his mother.

"Yes," he said, chuckling at something his eyes found in the book. "We do not talk often."

"Oh." Rudolf watched Samuel as he read silently. At times Samuel would shake his head, other times Samuel would smile and chuckle over something he found funny. "You said you were going to teach me something?"

"Yes," he replied, "I did say that, didn't I?"

Rudolf nodded. Samuel closed the book, placing it upon the others piled at the end of the table. "Rudolf, what is it you would like to learn?"

"My mother says I should know more about politics. But, I'm more fascinated by earth sciences. Do you know anything about science?"

Samuel nodded. "Very well, science it is. Do you know of the _fingerhut_ flower?"

Rudolf shook his head.

"It is called, in other parts, the 'foxglove' flower." Samuel continued on. "In Wales, children would think the flowers held fairies because of their bell like shape."

"That is quite silly, fairies living in flowers!" Rudolf exclaimed.

Samuel continued on. "The entire flower, down to the seeds, is poisonous. Children are the victims usually of the flower. You can blame it on their nativity if you like, Rudolf."

Rudolf said nothing in response. On his walks with his tutor, did he come across such a flower?

"What does the flower look like?" Rudolf asked.

"It is purple," Samuel responded. There was a change of interest in his eyes. "Relax, my friend, you have not encountered the flower at any point on your walks."

"Oh," Rudolf said. But this frightened him just a bit. How did Samuel know of his walks? Rudolf slowly got up from the chair and walked away from the table.

"How do you know so much about me?"

"Have you figured it out yet?" Samuel asked.

"No," Rudolf replied, "You are real, aren't you?"

"What a question Rudolf!" Samuel laughed, pressing his hands together and balancing his chin atop his fingertips. "I am very real."

"But why is it you appear when no one is around? Or, when you are around, people do not speak to you!"

"There is two reasons, one is … I choose who I wish to speak to, just as I am speaking to you." Samuel stood up, and paced around the table towards him. "And the other, well, people must call upon me."

"Call upon you?" Rudolf pondered this. "But I have never called for you."

"Yes," Samuel replied. "You haven't. But I choose to seek you out, Rudolf. I value our friendship." Samuel now stood before him.

"I do too," Rudolf replied. "It's just… for a friend, you are very mysterious."

Samuel placed a hand on Rudolf's shoulder. "And is that a bad thing?"

"No. It isn't. Besides me, the only other person you seem to speak to is my mother."

Samuel's face seemed to twitch at the mention of his mother.

"Your mother is a very dear friend of mine," Samuel said, removing his hand and striding over to the window. He looked out over the garden. Rudolf followed and stood beside him.

"Your mother used to call upon me," he said, a twinge of bitterness in his voice. "She has not done so recently."

"How did my mother meet you?"

Rudolf and Samuel both watched as a horse galloped across the field behind the garden. Elisabeth, Rudolf's mother, slowed the horse down to a trot. Rudolf knew that one of his mother's passions was riding. He always wanted to go for rides with her, but his grandmother and father refused.

"I saved her," Samuel said quietly, "Your mother fell. I caught her. I carried her back to her room and stayed beside her until her family came."

Rudolf felt warmed by his response. "You care about my mother, don't you?"

Samuel did not answer.

"Does she know that you speak to me?"

"No," Samuel responded.

"Why?" Rudolf asked.

Rudolf turned his head to see that Samuel was gone from the window. He found Samuel on the divan, poised in thought – a hand on his bent leg, and the other leg stretched out on the cushion. Rudolf moved away from the window and towards his friend.

"Is my mother angry with you?"

Samuel smirked.

Annoyed, Rudolf edged closer. "_Why_ is my mother angry with you?"

"Because I took something she loved dearly," he said, turning to look at him.

_So, he hurt my mother?_ Rudolf thought, staring into the dark blue eyes of his friend. Rudolf clenched his fists once.

"Did you give it back to her?"

"It is not that simple," he said. "What I took she can never have back."

"Does she understand that?" Rudolf asked.

"She does," he said quietly. "I am sure of it… still, she refuses to speak to me."

"What did you take?" Rudolf asked.

Samuel chuckled. "It doesn't matter. What matters is that soon enough, your mother will call upon me and I will answer her. Our friendship will regain footing. But, until then, I can spend time with you."

"Does my father know that you speak to my mother?"

Samuel narrowed his eyes at Rudolf. "No, he does not." Samuel crossed his arms.

"Have you spoken to my father?"

"Your father and I have nothing to discuss… at the moment," Samuel replied, smiling slightly.

"You don't like my father, do you?" Rudolf asked, edging closer to a chair. "Is it because of my mother?"

Samuel closed his eyes. "Yes."

Rudolf sat down on the chair beside the divan. "To be honest, I don't know what to think of my father." Rudolf crossed his arms as well, settling back into the plush chair.

Samuel was listening to Rudolf intently. "Go on," Samuel said quietly.

"He hardly sees me! And when he does, he never listens to what I have to say! But I want him to listen to me! I think… I think he's afraid of me."

"Why do you think that?" Samuel asked, opening his eyes.

Rudolf looked down. "It's just a feeling I get. I told my father I wanted to be a scientist once. He told me that I _thought too much like my mother_. He left and didn't say anything more to me."

Rudolf felt a cool hand on his cheek, and he looked up to see Samuel looking down on him.

"Rudolf," he said kindly, "I have a lesson for you. And remember this, my friend. Depend on yourself. You are the master of your ship, and no matter the waters, steer through them with a level head and a keen eye."

Rudolf nodded.

"I must leave you now," he said, removing his hand from Rudolf's cheek. "But, if you need me, I am always nearby…" He rounded Rudolf's chair, trailing a pale hand along the back of Rudolf's chair. Rudolf turned when he saw Samuel's hand disappear only to find an empty room.

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**Author's Note:** Originally, it was not supposed to end here. Do you recall the scene 'Rudolf, Wo Bist Du?' That would have followed this. But because of how awkward the scene was (after we had just seen Rudolf have one of probably many moments with Der Tod as a child), I felt that this one wouldn't be the one that helped him ... snap? So in the end, it was cut, and it remains on my computer. One day, it might be tacked on as an added chapter.


End file.
